Not Intent on Arriving

What a wild and crazy day for news.

1) Worst Journalist Ever: Washington Post sports columnist Mike Wise thought it was a great idea to tweet three pieces of false news yesterday to “test the accuracy of social media reporting.” The bad news: people attributed the news to him.  That prompted sportswriters to all condemn his antics. It’s the Post’s reputation on the line. The paper suspended Wise for the hoax. Ever heard of an ombudsman, Mike? No one will ever look to him for factual information again.

2) Last Surviving Member of First World Cup Team Dies: Francisco Varallo played for Argentina in the 1930 cup.  His team lost 4-2 to Uruguay.

3) Google becomes all-knowing: Well, at least they know what e-mails you want to read.  Today, Google launched Priority Inbox for Gmail, which will catalog your e-mails based on your friends and what e-mails you reply to most.  There was also a bizarre bug that came with the launch.  Apple reportedly plans to double the sample length for songs in iTunes.

4) Proud to be an American?: It’s getting harder to make that claim these days.  Though the controversial mosque by Ground Zero earned the endorsement of one GOP lawmaker today, the news was overshadowed by suspicions of arson on the site of a proposed Tennessee mosque and a hate attack in Seattle.

5) Hip CPR PR Campaign: It looks cool and is fun to play, but how are you supposed to do CPR now?  Directions are in a video at the bottom.

6) Dance: A compilation of movie dance scenes to the classic “Footloose” theme song by Kenny Loggins.

7) Mystery Meat Means Something New: I wrote previously about a miscommunication about cat meat that happened to me in Italy.  Well, a German restaurant has taken it one step farther.  They are actively seeking donations of body parts for a cannibal-themed dining establishment.  Though most suspect a publicity stunt, the restaurant claims inspiration from the Wari people, a Brazilian tribe that practiced cannibalism.

8 ) English Catholic Women Take on the Pope: Catholic Women’s Ordination (CWO) will plaster buses in London with ads for female ordination ahead of the Pope’s visit next month.

9) Fight Loitering Teens: What’s the best way to do that?  Some cities suggest adding lights works.  Others have tried Barry Manilow music.  Still others will try the “Mosquito,” a loud pitch designed to only be heard by young people.

10) Pro-Bullying Stance?: Apparently, the anti-bullying campaigns are a gay front. Yeah, whatever.

1) The old way of working wasn’t working anymore: Hard times for the perennial favorite in the dictionary war.  Reports are that the Oxford English Dictionary will stop publishing a print version. Sales are down. Google also plans to launch a pay-per-view video watching system, according to The Financial Times.  The venture could use  YouTube and might be ready by the end of 2010.  This as movie rental giant Blockbuster considers filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September.

2) Wait, how did that even get published?: Talking Points Memo looks at how one article started a myth that Mexican police officers would be coming to New York City to protect citizens of that country. The article, by freelance writer Jeffrey Smith, appeared in American Free Press.

3) How many people came to Glenn Beck’s rally?: As mentioned before, the estimates vary wildly. CBS News hired “experts” to determine the crowd this. Their estimate was 87,000 people attended. Beck himself estimated that between 300,000 and 500,000 attended.  Infamous Minnesota representative Michele Bachmann said:

“We’re not going to let anyone get away with saying there were less than a million here today – because we were witnesses.”

That’s fine, but upon careful analysis, it seems the CBS estimate wasn’t that bad. Metro later released figures suggesting that traffic was high, more than 500,000 riders, but not nearly as high as inauguration day when more than 1,120,000 people rode the system.

4) Recycled Appliance: A really cool looking sink made from recycled tires. Thanks Boing Boing.

A new design for a recycled sink

5) Cool Experimental Film: Designed in conjunction with Google and the band Arcade Fire, this new project is visually stunning and innovative.  Worth a look.

1) New Expedition Maps Titanic Wreck Site: not since the end of the movie has such an ambitious exploration of the RMS Titanic been attempted.  In its August issue, National Geographic writer Brian Handwerk authors  an incredible article about the state of the ruins, and describes fears that the wreckage might collapse. “Expedition Titanic” launched recently and its website allows online users to actually explore the wreckage.

A sonar pic of the wreckage. Thanks to Boing Boing.

2) Tea Partiers Descend on Lincoln Memorial for Beck-a-thon: Conservative talk show host Glenn Beck hosted “Restoring Honor” sermon/political rally yesterday.  Many story lines here.  Thousands of people attended, but the actual estimates range from 50,000 to well over 1 million. At the rally, baseball slugger Albert Pujols and manager Tony La Russa were strange honorees (side note: my dad and i watched the Washington Nationals beat their team, the St. Louis Cardinals today). One attendee blamed “homosexuals” for the country’s problems.  Beck later denied that he desired the presidency, but attacked President Obama’s religion on the Sunday talk shows. The Daily Intel describes many of the attendees.

One attendee of the controversial rally

3) NYC Subway Miracle: Early Sunday morning, an unidentified young woman walked onto the subway tracks seconds before an incoming train pulled into the station.  An alert driver stopped the train in time and averted a tragic accident.  Amazing photos of the scene were taken, but why were you taking pictures and not helping her, Mr. Onlooker?

Thanks to NY Daily News

4) History on… YouTube: Yep, it’s possible and Mashable has created an excellent list of 10 historical moments that you can watch on YouTube.  On the list: the moon landing, “I Have a Dream,” Fall of the Berlin Wall, Gandhi’s Salt March and many others. Check it out.  It’s worth the time.

5) 48 Hours?: Well the name doesn’t work, but Longshot Magazine went from concept to published work in 48 hours. Hundreds of people assisted in creation of the first issue, which is partially available online.

1) What year is it again?: A middle school in Mississippi just dropped student government election rules that mandated that certain positions would go to specific races.  Don’t worry though.  In the past, positions would change races each year and the rules were designed to ensure “ensure minority representation.”

2) Cat, Owner Reunited Thanks to Technology: Isn’t it a wonderful world we live in? Somehow, a cat hopped onto a train  and arrived dazed in Dublin far from home.  Thankfully, station managers reviewed closed circuit footage of the cat and were able to determine when it boarded.  Then, they tweeted a picture of the cat.  The owner saw the tweet (seriously, who isn’t following IrishRail?) and the two were reunited.

3) Two young transit workers have ancient disease: Two NYC transit workers have been diagnosed with consumption, a disease still common in Asia and Africa, but very rare in the United States.  The Daily Intel has the complete lowdown.  The money quote for a spokesman:

“Who the hell knows how they got it? Consider what these guys do. They take trucks, go to stations and hose them down. They’re in constant contact with crap in those stations.”

4) Juice from a penguin?: Laughing squid brings us an interesting concept for juice boxes.  Click here for the official website with additional designs.